We're still a few weeks out from its February 21 release date, but Osgood Perkins' The Monkey is already breaking records, with its first trailer racking up platform-wide (including TikTok) viewing numbers of 109 million according to WaveMetrix, a record for a non-MPA studio independent horror movie.
The Monkey‘s trailer success follows recent news that the 28 Years Later trailer also generated hugely impressive viewing numbers with 60.2 million views in its first 24 hours of release globally, making it second only to It: Chapter Two, which racked up 96 million views in its first 24 hours. In short, horror stays winning on every level.
Starring Theo James (The White Lotus), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Elijah Wood (Maniac, The Lord Of The Rings, Bookworm), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Colin O’Brien (Wonka), Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends) and Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek), The Monkey is based on a Stephen King short of the same name included in his 1985 collection, Skeleton Crew.
In The Monkey, when twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.
Produced by James Wan, the R-Rated horror is Perkin's first feature since 2024's Longlegs, which also broke records by becoming NEON's highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing independent film of the year.
We already know that The Monkey is totally different from Longlegs in tone, with both Perkins and James asserting that the “hyper-dark” pic goes as hard on the comedy as it does on the horror.
Catch The Monkey in theaters on February 21, and for more 2025 horror news, read our rundown of this year's most anticipated releases.
